1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for forming circular dynamoelectric machine field windings by pushing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, two different types of apparatus have been employed for placing dynamoelectric machine field windings in the slots of a stator core member. In the so-called in-place or gun winder, a free end of the wire is secured and a gun is oscillated through the bore of the core member thereby withdrawing the wire from a source and placing it directly in the desired slots; since the free end of the wire is fixed, the wire is in essence wound around selected teeth which define the slots thereby placing the wire under tension. A typical gun winder is shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,025,008 assigned to the assignee of the present application.
In the so-called coil-insertion or coil-injection apparatus, prewound coils are first placed on a circular array of elongated blades, the stator core is then positioned on the blades with the blades respectively engaging the inner ends of the stator core teeth, and the coils are then pushed bodily into the stator core member slots. Such coil insertion apparatus is shown for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,432,267, 3,324,536, and 3,447,225, the latter patent being assigned to the assignee of the present application. The coils for use with such coil insertion apparatus are typically formed by securing the free end of the wire to a coil form and then winding or wrapping the wire around the coil form as the wire is withdrawn from a source, the wire again being placed in tension as it is being wound. Typical apparatus for prewinding such coils is shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,575,219, also assigned to the present applicant.
Application Ser. No. 331,992 filed Feb. 12, 1973 by Robert E. Arick and Ralph A. Vogel and assigned to the assignee of the present application discloses apparatus and methods for pushing magnet wire into the slots respectively defined by spaced elements which may be the teeth of the stator core member or the blades of coil insertion apparatus thereby to form a dynamoelectric machine field winding.